Words Unspoken|Today is where your book begins, the rest is still unwritten.

4,099 hours. That’s how long I have spent, in total, in World of Warcraft. I’m sure everyone’s thinking “Wow, that’s a large number, she must be embarrassed!” but you know what? I’m not. There was a point where I felt like I should be ashamed of that number, but not anymore. Here’s why.

Most people automatically assume that once you play a game like that, and you play it a lot, that you’re “addicted” to it. I’m not. I’m sure there are people out there who are. People are capable of being addicted to absolutely anything in this world. Personally? I can step away from the game at any time and enjoy other things. Other games, movies, TV shows, time with my husband, time with my cat, exercise, shopping… All kinds of things, and not necessarily in that order.

I have a friend that’s gotten an even harder time for playing World of Warcraft than I have. She’s had people tell her that she’s a bad parent because she plays, she’s had people blame her other problems in life on the fact that she plays, and yet people don’t take a minute to think that maybe, just maybe, it’s her only time to herself. She doesn’t know a lot of people around where she lives, so she doesn’t get out often, and when she logs in the game, she’s got hundreds of friends at the touch of a button.

Of course, some people are very quick to say that these friends aren’t “real” friends, but I beg to differ. A few of my very best friends have been met through this game. To be honest, I met my husband in a different game, so there’s validation right there. But since we’re talking about World of Warcraft, and World of Warcraft alone here, I’ll stay on topic. There have been nights that I have had complete panic attacks about my future and what’s to be expected and the things I’m going through. These friends sit and talk to me while I worry, rationalize with me, and make me feel better. I don’t have someone I can just call to get that kind of support.

You can feel like an outcast in World of Warcraft just as easily as you can in real life. There are high-school-style cliques and there are generally elitist people wandering around, just waiting to attack your gear, or your play style. However, these people are few and far between. A while ago, shortly after the Burning Crusade (the expansion, for those of you who don’t play) came out, I was very frustrated. I played a holy/discipline priest and was tired of healing my way through instances. I got burnt out on the game, even though I was on my way to 70, and took a couple months off at 67. I played other games in the meantime and spent time dealing with real life personal issues, but I felt lonely (that’s what happens when you’re still “new” in town, obviously) and went back. I decided to respec my priest to shadow and not worry about what was going on with other people.

Once I hit 70, I had a group that was more than happy to take me in and work with me, while I learned to really play the class/spec and kinda fumbled my way through gearing up and trying new things. Things happened in the guild we were a part of, and eventually our leadership broke off and formed a new guild, and I knew I was going to leave. I’ve had trouble leaving guilds before because of guilt and the feeling of personal obligation, but this time I was sure it was for the best. I was right! In a short time, we’ve accomplished amazing things with a very casual raiding schedule, and it’s a group that I am proud to be a part of. The people are friendly, and we’re honestly like a little family, as cheesy as it sounds. There are disagreements and there are tough times, but we pull past it and just get stronger and stronger.

So tell me, what makes this game so bad? Why is it the subject of so many people ready to attack the people who play it? Why are we considered the ones with “no lives” or the ones who are “addicted” to our computers? I could spend two nights a week with friends out in the “real world” playing poker, or I can spend two nights a week on the computer with friends all over the world, playing something that, to me, is infinitely more entertaining. What’s wrong with that?

I’m no stranger to unusual dreams. Last night’s wasn’t unusual by anyone’s standards, except for the fact that it proves just how much of a nerd I really am.

That’s right, ladies and gentleman, I dreamed about getting a Wrath of the Lich King beta invite.

I dreamed that I had one, but it expired somehow, so I didn’t get to use it. I guess I didn’t realize I had it or something. So I went through all of this other procedure trying to convince “them” (Who were they, anyway? I guess Blizzard employees?) that I should get another one. While the beta invite wasn’t the strangest part of the dream, it’s certainly the most revealing.

However, some of you would probably like to know the more noteworthy points of the dream, so here they are, in list form.

• Giant black robot walking around with cameras in the bottom of its feet so it didn’t step on people.
• Big huge swimming pool that had no ladders to get in or out of.
• Lines for the bathroom that were so long that we got in the car to drive somewhere else.

Alright, off to perform housewifely duties, since Matt’s mom is coming home tomorrow and we can’t have her coming home to a messy apartment, can we?

(Click here if you can’t see the video.)

I slept very weird last night - heavy dreaming and I woke up actually hurting. But that might be due in part to my workout yesterday - I did all upper body because my foot is still messed up! So anyway, that makes my chest and shoulders and upper back and arms very sore today. It’s a good sore, though, because it means I’m doing the workout that I need to be doing.

I’m trying to eat healthier, but TRYING is the key word there. How do people lose weight all the time? I’ve been at a plateau for what, a year now? Ugh. Disgusting. Thankfully, though, I can look at myself in a mirror now and see that I have more of a shape, and feel better about myself. Who can hate curves? I sure can’t!

What I can hate, however, is my eyes constantly burning. I need to go in soon for an eye exam and new contacts because my eyes just can’t handle not having them! Plus, a fresh prescription certainly couldn’t hurt, because seeing is definitely underrated. Well, seeing clearly, that is.

For the past week or so, Mew Mew’s been back to the way she was when we first got her. I was really getting tired of her trying to leave the bedroom constantly, only to want to be let back in three minutes later. It’s also nice not having anyone here to feed her treats and make her WANT to be away from me. Just the other night she wandered into the bedroom, meowing, and I turned around to give her the attention I usually give her when she comes in meowing, and I see that she’s brought me a present - her grey stuffed mouse. She’s wandering into my bedroom with a mouse, and obviously brought it for me, since she dropped it at my feet and wouldn’t stop meowing until I picked it up! She’s sweeter than she seems sometimes, that’s for sure.

The past two days were filled with lots of cleaning - we pretty much cleaned the apartment from top to bottom! I have to finish up a bit of dishes that are in the sink from yesterday, but otherwise… clean! I even swept and mopped the bathroom and vacuumed the hall and bedroom. Life always feels better in a clean home, doesn’t it?

And with that, I think I’m going to do the dishes and leave them out to dry, and then play some EQ2. I’m really enjoying my free play time, and why wouldn’t I? It’s free time with a game that I love but can’t play because I love WoW more. Now if only they’d throw player housing into WoW, I’d be set!

Less bored today, but only slightly. After Matt got off work (I’m already loving this new regular schedule thing), we spent a couple hours here and then went to Lawtons and Walmart. I had to mail off a few things and Matt needed some new pants for work and we needed a few little things between us. It was nice knowing that we had so much time after he got off work - I seem to lose track of time so quickly now that I’m not working. It’s frustrating. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have a day drag on and on. Isn’t that weird? It’s some sort of housewife time warp thing.

I reinstalled GuildWars tonight. No clue why. Just felt like it, I guess. I still haven’t gotten the hang of the damn game. The camera drives me insane, though, I know that much. It’s too “swingy” - it keeps going when you rotate and it… I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. Anyone have any tips for me though? I’d sure like some!

Tomorrow is my cleaning day. I still haven’t put away my laundry from yesterday, and I have a bunch more things to do. Nothing too serious, but enough to keep me busy until Hyjal tomorrow night.

• Laundry away
• Bed made
• Clean my desk
• Clean Matt’s desk
• Take out bedroom trash
• Take any dishes out of the bedroom
• Clean up closet - it’s a disaster from Matt looking for his racing wheel
• Clean up the floor, put away all the junk on there
• Vacuum

Since I’ve been at this point in the blog writing process (seriously, this very sentence) for over an hour now, I’m going to leave you with this, showing how I celebrated Matt starting his new job today. Congratulations honey, I love you!